Fun Facts About the Different NYPL Libraries

I think many know I love libraries. I love the look of them, the atmosphere, and just the endless possibilities I always feel when I walk in. I thought it was interesting to find out a few possibly unknown facts about just a few of the New York Libraries.

The Harry Belafonte 115th Street Library was designed by McKim, Mead & White and has been an important part of the Harlem community since 1908. It was renamed in 2017 after Harry Belafonte, the famous entertainer and civil rights leader who was born in Harlem. The 115th Street library is a national and city landmark with an elegant façade and wooden display cases on the first floor. Along with its historic appeal, this library has been updated with public computers and Wi-Fi. It also contains a children’s room and an area for after-school programs.

The 125th Street New York Public Library opened in 1901, thanks to a donation from Andrew Carnegie. It was renovated in 2000 and updated with new furniture and computers. This library also offers books and magazines in Spanish and English, a children’s story hour, Wi-Fi and an impressive African-American heritage collection. Situated on the eastern side of Harlem’s famous 125th street, this unique building contains two floors, a vaulted ceiling, a children’s room, and a neighborhood space that can be reserved free of charge.

The 58th Street Library is a modern and full-service library in East Midtown, offering TechConnect computer classes and more. This library has free Wi-Fi, computers, movies, a world language collection, and audiobooks. It was originally built in 1907 but was moved in 1969 to its current location within an office building. It also contains a community space and a collection of large-print books as well as some material for children and teens.

The 53rd Street branch is brand new, opening in June of 2016. This Midtown library was designed by TEN Arquitectos and has a superbly modern, light design. It houses collections for all ages, as well as DVDs, CDs, computers, and laptops. It contains new community spaces, a Teen Zone and a Children’s room. This library is also able to provide unique events and programs due to its collaborations with the nearby Museum of Modern Art.

Resembling the beautiful Yorkville Library, the 67th Street Library was designed by Babb, Cook & Willard. This Upper East Side gem opened in 1905 and was renovated in the 1950s and in 2005. The interior has been updated but architectural details such as the original staircase and mosaic floor remain. This 14,000-square foot library contains computers, a study area, and a garden. It offers baby storytime, adult ballet, and TechConnect.

Visit one of these or another library soon and see if you can find out something else interesting.

Originally published at yulkaseman.net.

Google in Human Form? Check Out the NYPL

“In what year was J.K. Rowling born?”

“What are the exterior dimensions of Radio City Music Hall?”

“Why do 18th century English paintings have so many squirrels in them and how to they detain them so they wouldn’t bite the painter?”

From easy questions to the downright quirky questions, the New York Public Library fields them just as Google would. Whether it be Matthew, Bernard, Sarina, Diane or Rosa, someone will answer your call if you dial (917) 275-6975.

In an age when everything is automated, this seems almost unbelievable. Whether it be on the phone with a banking service or another library, we all understand the frustrations about getting stuck in a revolving door of robotic replies on the phone, desperately waiting to get on the line with an actual person. The NYPL understands these frustrations so they created Ask NYPL, which is the libraries’ virtual reference service.

“We have 10 librarians on the team, and we answer any question you may have over the telephone,” says Rosa Caballero-Li, manager of Ask NYPL, in a video interview with Great Big Story. “One of the number one comments that we get from callers is, ‘Thank God I’ve reached a human being,’” she said in another interview with CBS News. “Even on chat sometimes people will say, ‘Is this a robot or a person?’ We have to laugh and say, ‘I’m a real person.'”

Deemed the “Human Google,” the Ask Desk receives about 300 inquiries a day and 30,000 calls per year via telephone, social media, email, chat, text message, and even snail mail. According to their website, the Ask Desk will provide patrons with an answer in roughly 24 hours, save for questions that were sent in via snail mail.  

But since librarians at the Ask Desk have access to Google themselves, doesn’t it defeat the purpose of the service since many customers can Google the questions themselves?

Not necessarily. Often, customers who come to the Ask Desk can’t find the answers themselves because the information isn’t available to the general public or they’re having problems deciphering what information is correct. In an era of “fake news,” it’s more important than ever to have your facts checked, and what better way to have them checked then by a librarian?

To find out more information about NYPL’s “Human Google,” you can view this informational video down below.